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Ya know..that is really not that funny.

I would

watch for good water/beach front property bargins over in Louisiana & Mississippi. There might be some great deals, oh a bit of risk involved...

Around here basic cookie cutter homes are starting off around 150,000 for a 1,200-1,400 sq foot house on a small lot (.1-.2 acres). Seems mighty high for my tastes.

I bought my house last year, 24xx sq ft on .3 acres for 110,000. Granted it's getting kinda old (30ish years old), but I'd rather have an older house and still eat than a new one and starve.

A few guys I've talked to while at thier house have told me how thier house value has doubled. None were happy about it either. They all loved the area they lived in but were bombarded by higher tax's and most were looking to sell to get something affordable again.

I don't know if the houseing market will crash around here, but they aren't really slowing down. I don't know exactly how many houses go up every year, but it has to be around 1,000 a year or so. I'd guesstamate the population for this area is somewhere around 100,000 people or so (fairly large area too).

Eventually something has to happen, or there's going to be a lot of empy houses around.

I live 2 miles from Basking Ridge NJ (mentioned above). I bought my 3BR ranch 10 years ago for $215K. It's now worth at least twice that. I couldn't afford to buy it today at current prices.

A builder bought a Cape around the corner from us, turned it into a center entry colonial and sold it for mid $800K. It was nice, but not THAT nice. A divorced mother of 2 bought it. $800K!

How does a first time buyer get into the market when a starter home is $400K?

Jim

I bought my 4 bedroom/2 bath small cape cod 7 years ago for $86,500 and now similar houses are listed at $160,000 to $180,000 here. There's just no starter houses around for sale. They've raised the proffers so the builders aren't putting up anything that's less than $$250,000. It's nothing like those other areas though.

Linden lived here a few years and used to tell us about the Cali housing market and warned us what's to come here and we are beginning to see it.

Some older neighborhoods with sewer and natural gas have been plowed under for new housing. Old neighborhoods are becoming more dense. Every old lot that was skipped over for 25 years is being built on.

Glad I live in one of those non-popoualr places- bought my rundown two bedroom, one bath for <40,000.

Because of the housing prices here a lot of people moved to the other vally,about 45 miles one way & drive back & forth everyday. Now with the $3.10 gas they are realy hurten.

bigbird i would guess u can charge high $ for changeouts cause the cost,and price of living are so high, i was talking to a guy in cali and i told him i was making $ and he said the only way to make that $ is go to sf where it takes u 2 hrs to get anuwhere

Yes, there is some hand-me-down money But, a lotof the homes i do are for 35 to 40 year olds that are retired. They bought cheap stock in hi-teck, & sold before the crash.
I did a 8700sq.ft.home for a retired 28 year old guy.

there is no way anybody in this thread is from sf or san jose on this talk, that state is so poisined the housing market, i could care less the only way those people get them homes is from hand them down from gererating to generating,i was in sacramento in 2000 and the prices were just about ready to take off, and the pay for hvac guys was right out of the 80's keep it

James,i apoligize for stealing your thread. This is my last reply. Linden i still go to la villas deli.

Alright! Last personal post as I think we're hijacking the thread. My mother graduated WG high in '53, me in '76, my son last year. I'll bet you remember the frame store that was there before Starbucks. Do you remember the pharmacy across the street? I worked there as a high school student delivering prescriptions. And of course, you can't be in Willow Glen without going to La Villa Deli.

Yes, she went to willow glen high & graduated in 1963.
I graduated from lincoln high in 1960.
I`ve been here since the spanards established the first misson.On the corner of minnisota & lincoln sts.is a starbucks now & all the yuppies set there in the morning drinking cooffee.Norm chris taught hvac class at san jose city college for years.

If your wife grew up on Glenn, then she went to WG high. What year? I can't place Glennwood Ave. I know Hicks of course. There is always something being redone over in that area. It's a great neighborhood but, lots of older homes.

Thats strange,i`m doing a remodle around the corner on hicks.
One of the artchetcs i do work for lives an glennwood.
My wife was born & raised on glenn ave. right off willow st.

Bigbird: Laurelwood Dr.

Linden.what street did you live on in willow glen?I`do a lot of remodels & New construction after the tear downs.
I`ve lived afew miles from willow glen for 63 years.

Originally posted by bigbird
CT2,That house was in the willowglen area of san jose,i`ts the preppy area where people buy there for status,you know "i`m doing one up on the jones". I have no idea where people get the money to buy these over priced homes.We were running a 8% unemployment rate for awhile.They tear down the house but leave i existing wall up to qualify it as a remodel & get to go through express plan check.They put a 2 story house on it & sell for 1.5 million.I`m doing a remodel/addition in saratoga that the fondation work alone is $350,000.00. The general contractors contract is 1.7 million.The owners are in their 30`s.My neighbor just sold his house for $840,000.00. 2 days on the market & i`m in the concrete getto of san jose.

I'm born and raised, 3rd generation, willow glen. These houses are called "knock downs". They didn't pay for the house, they bought the neighborhood and the lot. Same thing happens in places like Baskin Ridge, NJ.

As far as the cost of housing crashing; I recall in '76 a house across the street selling for the unbelievable price of $73K. Most people agreed that the cost of housing couldn't go higher and would have to "correct". That same house sold in '01 for $1.3M as a "knock down". The new owner spent $150K in just the new landscaping. The owner is a guy named Stacey and is a VP with Xilinx. I figure he makes about $200K a year. I don't know for sure. But, with that kind of income, do you think he cares about the differance between $1M and $1.3M. Naaaawww! The house and neighborhood keeps his BABE of a wife off his butt and the house is big enough for him to hide from the kids and housekeeper.

I think the cost of housing will level as interest creep up, but crash? I doubt it. I've seen it before. I've been living it my whole life.

BB

it really is amazing that there is that much money out there . and the way housing has spread from the bay .

Friends of mine here sold a 2 bd room 1 bath 950 ft home . they asked xxx,000 for it. 2 couples wanted the house and they started bidding for it . they ended up paying 50,000 more than the asking price by the time they were finished

When I worked in the bay I was with the Millwrights Union. We did alot of the clean room work in the electronics firms, worked alot at the pper mill across from the SJ airport, the car factory in freemont,

we made good money working there but not enough to pay a mortgage like that.

Thats only been a couple of years ago, I couldnt imagine making that drive every day now, it was bad then , but now it would be a six hour drive

bigbird, sounds like you better raise the rent on those chickens or else move them out and remodel the coops into housing.